Chicago, June 24 - Coca-Cola Co opened two new bottling plants in China this week as the world's biggest soft-drink maker further expanded in a large and fast growing beverage market.
The new plants, in Jiangxi and Xinjiang provinces, created 796 jobs, the company said on Wednesday. It estimated 8,000 more jobs would be created for suppliers and service providers.
The centrally-located Jiangxi Province has 44 million consumers, Coca-Cola said. Xinjiang, China's westernmost province, has more than 20 million.
The company recently said it would invest $2 billion in China over the next three years. It currently operates 38 bottling plants in China, employing 30,000 people directly.
Coca-Cola said its business in China grew by 19 percent in 2008, making it the company's third-largest market.
Historically, Coca-Cola has invested a lot of money in China, from its 2008 sponsorship of the Olympic Torch Relay, to a $90 million research facility in Shanghai, to $12 million in donations to help rebuild schools in Sichuan Province after a devastating earthquake there last year.
Coca-Cola shares up nearly 1 percent at $48.23 in late-morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.